Infection of some kind

[euphorion]

Infection of some kind, scale rot?

Firstly, I will be calling the vet as soon as they open on Monday to make an appoinment for during the week. However, i'm not too keen on the idea of taking an animal in to the vet and potentially exposing it to something worse there when i could otherwise treat at home. So, for those of you that have seen this or something similar, please help me out.

Back story, he started sitting in his water bowl for extended periods of time during a two day period. I started to get worried and thought 'mites' so gave him a thorough check-over but found nothing. I have been unlucky enough to have had mites on a snake brought into my house years ago but got rid of them quickly and easily, so i know what they look like and how they present. So no mites and he went into shed. Since that two/three day period before he started showing the visible signs of going into shed he has not been soaking.

To the point, he shed overnight, one nice big piece. But now he has these marks on him.



I have bathed the areas in betadine solution and will do that three times a day until we see the vet. As far as increasing temperatures go he has a heat mat which i have on intermittently throughout the day, it already gets nice and hot so have just increased the times that is on for. Would have to install a ceramic socket and light cage in order to put a bulb in but i'll get to that this afternoon if needed.

Anyway, ideas? Fungal? Scale rot?

 

[Cockney_Red]

looks like a minor case of scale rot...these areas would have been blistered before shed

I would keep temps as normal keep up the betadine and keep a look out for any blisters, if more appear, vet!

 

[euphorion]

I have been keeping an eye on him closely since he went int shed to check for mites so feel like i would have noticed these areas if they were blistered. He has creases in his scales as most larger snakes start to get from resting coiled but nothing like blisters and not over these areas. His tail was completely fine last night. Do you happen to have a good representative image of what this would have looked like?

He's had rot before (not in my care, long story). It was much more severe than this and he was in a lot of pain (he has never bitten or acted aggressively but while he was being treated for that rot he was terrfying) he would hiss and try to thrash whenever i had to clean the areas as if they were painful to the touch, but nothing like that this morning. I was cleaning them, lifting the scales slightly and gently rubbing the betadine into his scales. So it's not painful, at least not yet. The inflammation makes me think it is bacterial but given that he was soaking i feel like it could be fungal.

In your experience can rot, if this is rot, be treated at home with just betadine? When he had his severe case he required antibiotic injections every 72 hours.

 

[AirCooled]

one thing that would help is removing any substrate that will hold moisture until the infection has cleared and to drop the humidity

 

[euphorion]

thanks deadpan, i have taken out his waterbowl and just given him a small one for drinking water. he is just on newspaper at the moment.

a thought, he was on rice husks for a while. i got rid of those after they got moths in them, and the ants seemed to love it too. maybe these were irritating him? anyway, already got rid of all that about a fortnight ago.

not happy jan.

 

[ToadCountry]

And given that F10 kills airborne and surface pathogens - I would add this to the mix of your basic husbandry.
Thanks (insert sarcasm here) for the mention of vet clinics - quote: "However, i'm not too keen on the idea of taking an animal in to the vet and potentially exposing it to something worse there when i could otherwise treat at home." unquote.
We would be sure to follow protocol, and isolate your potentially germy snake away from our hatchie non-feeders, and a nine foot olive post surgical egg removal.

 

[euphorion]

I'm worried about things like OPMV, TC. I'm not questioning the abilities of exotic vet staff, i'm a qualified vet nurse myself and i know what they are capable of. It's regularly said by myself and others that sometimes its better to treat at home rather than risk exposing an animal to more potential contageons at a clinic.

And yes, F10 is present and accounted for, but thanks for the tip *insert sarcasm* just in case i forgot.

You've got some terrible 'bedside' manner for someone who works with sick animals and their owners, i'm glad you're not in Brisbane.

 

[ToadCountry]

Well, I suppose I can only go off your original question - and you sounded as if you had no idea.
And there are vet nurses, and vet nurses.

 

[euphorion]

Thanks for the pointer on using F10, TC. Obviously i don't have any idea, other than all the things i have stated, else i wouldn't be posting in 'Herp Help' now would I?

I'd really like this to stay on track, it's frustrating when people like this to turn into something personal.

 

[ingie]

I'm not sure what it is Shoo cause I have never experienced anything like it before, but your comment about treating it at home if that was possible is perfectly valid. You can't see OPMV and I doubt vet nurses are washing their clothes between patients! All it takes is one mite or a bit of surface cross contamination. Better to be safe than sorry. You never know what germs people are bringing in on their pets, after all it is a place you bring sickly animals!

In one of my old jobs where I was working with birds, I would come home, strip off my clothes into the washing machine out the back, leave my shoes outside and run to the shower. If I didn't want to wash my hair I would F10 spray it. Only then would I go and touch all my things in the house and play with my sun conure. People thought I was completely mad but one day a girl at work told me her cockatoo had been diagnosed with beak and feather disease, and she had been occasionally taking home some of the baby birds that I helped her hand raise. I was sure glad for my protocol then.

And there are vet nurses, and vet nurses.

Pfft. Shoo is a vet nurse that specialises in dogs. Learning about reptile diseases during vet nurse training is certainly not stock standard. Glad you have learnt everything there is to know about reptiles though, now you only need to work on your attitude!